Profit loss aside, having a positive cash flow in a lower-price environment could put oil and gas companies in a buying mood.
Talk following the release of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s second-quarter 2015 earnings, which fell 52% quarter-over-quarter to $4.2 billion, turned to M&A activity. While Jeff Woodbury, the company’s vice president of investor relations and secretary, did not reveal any specifics he did say Exxon Mobil is always alert to value opportunities so it’s business as normal.
“If you step back and think about the diversity of our resource base, we’re very well covered across all of the resource types,” Woodbury said on a July 31 conference call. “We’re always interested in expanding those positions—further high-grading them.”
This includes the company’s exploration program, which Woodbury said is designed to identify higher value opportunities to add to the company’s resource base or displace assets not significant.
Exxon Mobil has not issued new guidance on 2015 capex. It remains at $34 billion.
However, Woodbury pointed out how the company has been able to capture savings, including through efficiency, in the current climate of lower commodity prices and abundant supplies that have grown faster than demand.
Capex could decline further. Capital and exploration expenditures were $8.3 billion, down 16% from second-quarter 2014. But the efficiency push will carry on, he said.
“Having said that also note that we continue to invest in the business and we have a very attractive inventory of high-quality opportunities given the financial flexibility,” Woodbury said. “We can garner some real benefits during the downcycle in a softer market environment.”
Generally speaking, the company is not focused on a specific resource type.
“It’s really focused on where we think our unique experience can add value that others can’t see,” Woodbury said of the company’s strategy. “Staying in a lower price environment is going to encourage both buyers and sellers to find closure.”
Exxon Mobil reported cash flow from operations and asset sales was $9.4 billion for second-quarter 2015. Of that amount, $629 million were proceeds associated with asset sales.
For the first half of 2015, cash flow from operation and asset sales totaled $17.9 billion.
Onshore in the United States, Woodbury said the company is working to unlock the value of more than 15 billion oil-equivalent barrels. Through its XTO Energy affiliate, Exxon operates in all of the major oil and gas plays.
“Near-term emphasis is on the development of 2.4 million net acres in the liquids rich Bakken, Permian and Woodford-Ardmore-Marietta, where investment opportunities remain attractive in today’s price environment,” he said.
Velda Addison can be reached at vaddison@hartenergy.com or via Twitter @veldaaddison.
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